Only perfect I-A school, Boise St. finishes No. 5 in AP

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Boise State has something not even the
national champions can claim -- an undefeated record.

The Broncos finished the season as Division I-A's only unbeaten
team after No. 2 Florida upset No. 1 Ohio State 41-14 Monday night
in the BCS Championship Game.

"Let's go play 'em next week," Florida coach Urban Meyer said
with a laugh about Boise State. "I love Boise State, but I
wouldn't want to do that. We're done."

Boise State finished No. 5 in the final, post-bowl Associated
Press poll, with one first-place vote. The Broncos ended the season No. 6 in the USA Today coaches poll.

A week before the Gators' gadgetry had the Buckeyes spinning at
University of Phoenix Stadium, Boise State opened up its bag of
tricks and put on the bowl season's best show on the very same
field.

The Broncos used a hook-and-ladder to score the tying
touchdown, a Statue of Liberty play to score the decisive 2-point
conversion, and the Broncos beat Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime to
become America's favorite underdog on New Year's Day.

Some questioned whether the Western Athletic Conference
champions even belonged in the Bowl Championship Series with the
winners of the Big 12. But by the time quarterback Jared Zabransky,
running back Ian Johnson and the rest of the Broncos were done with
the Sooners, Boise State had become college football's version of
George Mason, the mid-major that made the NCAA basketball Final
Four last year.

And if the Broncos' wild Fiesta Bowl victory wasn't enough to
win over most football fans outside of Oklahoma, then surely
Johnson's proposal to his girlfriend on the field right after
scoring the winning points was.

Some of the Broncos were looking for more after the Fiesta Bowl.

"We went 13-0 and beat everyone on our schedule," Zabransky
said. "We deserve a chance at the national title."

Boise State coach Chris Peterson, who'd never asked for more
than a chance to simply play in one of the big-dollar bowl games,
wouldn't bite when asked about the national title after the Fiesta.

"Hey, we don't worry about that," Petersen said. "We just go
and play who they tell us to play. The pollsters vote how they want
to vote. We're just happy to control what we can control."

Boise State was the second team from outside the big six
conferences (Big Ten, Pac-10, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East
and Big 12) to play in the BCS, joining Urban Meyer's 2004 Utah
team.

The Broncos were the first to make it under the BCS's new
five-game format, put in place to give teams from conferences such
as the WAC and Mountain West better access to college football's
marquee games.

The Broncos needed to finish 12th or better to automatically
qualify for the BCS and finished eighth in the standings.

Florida's got the national championship, but no team in Division
I-A has a better record than the Broncos.

"There's only one way to figure out who the better team is and
that's go play the game," Meyer said.